Old-Maria looked around the apartment. “Joo have a lot more than Renata. Joo live in a palace.”
“Tell you what,” Christy said. “This doesn’t have to be resolved today. Why don’t you stay with us for a while? We could use the company. The couches in the living room are comfortable for sleeping. And Renata has a sofa bed in her room. I know she would love to meet you. In fact, she’ll be home from school in a few hours. Let’s just start with that, shall we?”
Jorge and Old-Maria looked at each other. Old-Maria shook her head, but Jorge said, “Okay, we’ll stay.”
“I’m not walking that cabrito in this ciudad grande,” Old-Maria said, wagging her finger in Jorge’s face.
“Fine,” Jorge said. “Renata will walk the goat. She needs to learn how to take care of him, anyway.”
Lord give me strength, Christy prayed.
DEAR DIARY,
MY WHOLE FAMILY AND THEIR GOAT CAME TO NEW YORK TO CLAIM ME. THEY WANT ME TO GO HOME WITH THEM AND BE A GOAT HERDER. WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK I AM—HEIDY? ALL THE GIRLS IN THE FAMILY ARE NAMED MARIA AND THAT IS JUST WEIRD. GRANDMA WANTED ME TO GET AN EDUCATION AND NOT TO TAKE CARE OF GOATS. I’M VERY WORRIED THAT CHRISTY WILL SEND ME BACK WITH THEM NOW THAT SHE AND MICHAEL BROKE UP. LAST NIGHT, CHRISTY HAD A MEETING WITH MY MEXICO FAMILY IN THE LIBRARY. I SPIED FROM THE CLOSET AS USUAL. EVERYONE AGREED THAT I CAN FINISH THE SCHOOL YEAR. MY RELATIVES ARE STAYING WITH CHRISTY UNTIL THE TERM ENDS. BUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER? I NEED TO TALK TO MRS. DE MILLE ABOUT THIS BUT SHE’S DEAD. THE PEOPLE I LOVE ARE DROPPING LIKE LICE.
YOUR CURSED FRIEND,
RENATA HAYES
It only took a few days for Christy to get used to having Renata’s family in the apartment. If she wasn’t so worried about their taking the child, she would have enjoyed the company more. When Old-Maria wasn’t calling on her local goat cheese accounts, she took over kitchen duties. And she was a fabulous cook. Young-Mother-Maria cleaned circles around Cynthia and, on top of that, managed the YouGoatGirl website. Cynthia finally quit out of embarrassment. Nectar took care of Little-Maria, Renata, and Ali, taking the older girls to school, accompanying Little-Maria to the art, gymnastics, and music classes she found for her. Jorge was redoing all the cabinets in the kitchen and building a new dining room table. Christy mastered the family’s European washer-dryer and took responsibility for everyone’s laundry. Renata did the dishes. Ali (reluctantly) watered what was left of the dracaena plant. Between Renata, Ali, Jorge, the three Marias, Mr. Koodles, the baby goat, housework, school, the goat farm, and carpentry projects, Christy had a little less time to miss Michael.
Ali and Renata put on their bathing suits, got into the tub, and gave the goat his first bath. Christy, Renata, and Little-Maria walked the animal, which Renata had named Princess Anastasia in honor of Mrs. De Mille (even though it was a boy goat). They tried taking it to the Central Park dog run, but it caused such a stir that a park ranger threatened to write a ticket. Still, Christy was pretty sure the goat was becoming housebroken.
Michael Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Christy had just come in from a run when the buzzer sounded.
“Miss Kilborn’s here to see you,” Tony said.
“Who?”
There was mumbling on the other end of the intercom as Tony conferred with the visitor. “Miss Katherine Kilborn.”
“Send her up,” Christy said. I suppose.
Soon, the doorbell rang. Why hadn’t she told Tony to turn her away? Instead, she was standing there frozen with the intercom phone in her hand. “I’ll get it,” Christy said, shooing Jorge. She looked through the peephole and caught a distorted view of Katherine—forehead enlarged, no chin, minuscule body. It was her best angle, Christy thought, opening the door. Sure enough, there Katherine stood, all decked out in a checkered Chanel suit and Prada heels, carrying her Gucci bag. The bitch was as stunning as ever. Seeing Katherine filled Christy with a sense of loss. For some reason, she felt the old tug of her former girlfriend and confidante. She remembered the day Vanity Fair had photographed them modeling fall executive fashions. They were both so proud of having their picture in that magazine. Then she flashed on that last board meeting, the one she had relived hundreds of times. How could she possibly think of missing this Judas?
Christy stood at the door and said nothing. Katherine’s eyes misted up, and she burst into tears. She stepped forward and embraced her. “We need you back.”
Christy waited for Katherine to stop blubbering.
Katherine composed herself and reached for Christy’s hand. “How are you, Christy?”
“I’m great. Everything’s hunky-dory.” She would never tell her about Michael. Christy knew she’d act all concerned but would be secretly delighted. “What about you?”
“Christy, it has been so hard for me since you left. I hate being at the company without you as my partner. More than anything, I hate that we aren’t friends anymore. Everyone misses you at Baby G. I’m here to ask you to come back.”
Christy’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding.”
“No, I’m not. The place is a mess without you.”
“But that Journal article said business was soaring. You’ve made all those amazing changes and turned around what I wasn’t capable of leading.”
“You know how it is with the media. We had to put our best foot forward for the good of the company.”
“Yeah, while you smeared me.”
Katherine looked down. “I’m sorry about that. And also about what I did to you at the board meeting. It’s just…I was so sick of living in your shadow. You probably can’t understand that because you’ve never been anyone’s second banana. I just wanted to be in charge for once. But it’s lonely at the top.
